Geneva – The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and Amsterdam International Law Clinic issued a report on the legal position of ‘Stateless Persons’ in the European Union, shedding light on the EU’s laws concerning stateless persons and proposing a strategy to have the Court of Justice of the European Union to issue a ruling in this regard, to help get stateless persons from ‘the grey areas.’ The report suggests an interpretation of the term ‘Stateless Persons’ by the CJEU in relation to a combination of the provisions of the Charter.

Sponsored by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, the report has been prepared by the Amsterdam International Law Clinic and commissioned by the law firm Prakken d’Oliveira Human Rights Lawyers.

The report highlights the ‘grey areas’ in European Union law relevant to stateless persons, and it proposes a threefold litigation strategy aimed at triggering a preliminary ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Amsterdam International Law Clinic and Euro-Med Monitor underline that the definition and practical applications of the concept ‘Stateless Persons’ in the European Union law is surrounded by a high degree of ambiguity, which leaves an unknown percentage of over 760,000 stateless people in Europe in a ‘legal limbo.’

“This is a very important piece of strategic research. It could trigger valuable legal transformations in EU Law that would directly alleviate the legal standing of stateless people in Europe;” said the Operations Advisor of Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, Mahmoud Jawad.

The report particularly examines the situation of over 4,000 stateless persons in the Netherlands and the Dutch statelessness determination procedure. Its authors contend that a referral by a local Dutch court or tribunal to the CJEU, seeking a clarification of the concept ‘stateless persons,’ could generate pressure on the Dutch authorities and expedite their efforts to establish an effective statelessness determination procedure.

Given the authoritative status of EU institutions such as the CJEU, relevant to the domestic legal systems of EU Member States, such a ruling could also become the cornerstone for a common stateless determination procedure amongst all Member States of the Union. 

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For media inquiries
Mahmoud Jawad, Euro-Med Monitor Operations Advisor: +44 7922 059 639